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ERDF at the Cross Roads?

The 2007-13 English regional ERDF programmes are rapidly moving into a critical make or break phase. They have just two more years to invest what is still a significant amount of uncommitted money. The programmes have experienced very tough operating conditions having navigated through an intense recession which has fundamentally changed economic opportunities. Business growth and job creation o...
The UK’s Broadband Challenge May Be Bigger Than...

This week OFCOM published data on fixed broadband availability throughout the UK. The headlines, not surprisingly “highlight that overall broadband performance is lower in areas of low population density, such as rural Scotland and Wales.” Taking the Ofcom approach at face value, this is true. But, from a policy perspective this is only part of the picture. Investment in broadband should not jus...
BDUK Round 2 Reflections and Forward Look

The dust is now settling on the latest announcement from the second round of BDUK announcements . Congratulations clearly due to the winners and commiserations (for now) to the losers. The three winners are now starting the hard work of turning their bids into concrete plans which attract private sector interest and command what looks like some substantial leverage. Exact figures will be finali...
Accelerating Next Generation Broadband Access

Superfast broadband can drive forward economic growth and its roll-out should be stimulated where the market is not likely to go. Why Super Fast Broadband? Speed is important to a growing number of businesses and households and will continue to be important as new richer media and more sophisticated applications emerge. Uploading might become important as synchronous broadband creates scope...
Super Fast Trains & Super Fast Broadband

I’ve been struck in the last 24 hours by the comparisons being made between HS2 and the government’s other flagship infrastructure investment in superfast broadband. £530m has been allocated through BDUK to local partnerships across the country while HS2 is going to cost £33bn for its first phase alone connecting Birmingham and London, with the first trains not running until 2026. Whilst there h...